Guest Post: Diabetes Risks for the Pushing Thirtyy Crowd

I don’t often post articles about health. The truth is that I’m the type of person who likes to ignore any sign of illness (much to the dismay of my colleagues during cold season). But as I have gotten older, I have become more in tune with my body and knowing when things aren’t right. Yet still, there is so much I just don’t know about. What follows is a guest post from the experts over at Drugwatch.com about a specific health concern plaguing millions.

According to the American Diabetes Association, 25.8 million adults and children in the United States have diabetes. Approximately 1.9 million people between the ages of 20 and 65 were diagnosed with diabetes in 2010. In fact, 11.3 percent of this age bracket has diabetes. Diabetes does not discriminate based on race or age. For people between the ages of 24 and 32, diabetes is becoming a prevalent problem, so people of this age group should become familiar with the risks.

Type I diabetes tends to appear between infancy and young adulthood. This does not mean that it cannot develop at any time throughout life, but this is just when it is most common. When people develop type I diabetes, generally it is an autoimmune disorder that happens due to genetics or environmental factors. A person is at greater risk of having this form of diabetes if he or she has a parent with disease.

For individuals between the ages of 24 and 32, type II diabetes is also a concern, and in some cases, a controllable concern. Obesity and being overweight contribute to this age bracket developing diabetes. Being overweight also affects diabetes health, since weight issues can worsen the condition. In order to improve diabetes health, a patient should eat a healthy diet consisting of low-carb foods, high-fiber foods and plenty of fruits and vegetables. A patient should also exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight.

Another diabetes risk factor for people between the ages of 24 and 32 years of age is becoming pregnant. When a woman develops diabetes as a result of pregnancy, it is known as gestational diabetes. Although a patient with gestational diabetes will still need to manage her diabetes health, the disease generally will go away once the woman has given birth.

Patients in this age group who are inactive increase their risk of diabetes. Not only does exercise help to manage a person’s weight, but it also assists with managing diabetes health. In addition, being active plays a role in making cells more sensitive to insulin.

When a person between the ages of 24 and 32 has signs of prediabetes, his or her chance of developing diabetes is increased. Thus, it is important to have regular blood sugar screenings to detect elevated glucose levels. Early detection can assist a person in making the proper lifestyle modifications to prevent prediabetes from turning into a full-blown case of the disease.

Many type II patients required medication, in addition to diet and exercise. Patients should consult with their doctor before usage of any medication and be aware of the serious side effects before they take anything new.

For example, the diabetes drug Actos has been linked to an increased risk of congestive heart failure and bladder cancer. These conditions have led the FDA to issue a black box label warning on the product, and have led many users of the medication to file an Actos lawsuit against the manufacturer.

Although diabetes does not discriminate based on race, Hispanics and African-Americans have a greater chance of having diabetes. As of 2011, 12.6 percent of non-Hispanic African-Americans and 11.8 percent of Hispanics had diabetes. On the other hand, only 7.1 percent of white Americans had diabetes. This means that people in this particular age bracket who are either Hispanic of African-American should monitor their blood glucose levels even more than white Americans, since ethnicity does heighten one’s risk of developing this condition.

Like this:

Generally women don’t feel any symptoms. Someone lisetd the general symptoms of diabetes but the way diabetes works, you have to have had high blood sugars for a long period of time before experiencing symptoms. Symptoms build up gradually, they don’t show up overnight. And most women who get gestational diabetes develop it quickly. They don’t have high blood sugars long enough to develop the symptoms. If you did have those symptoms it would be more likely you were a type 2 diabetic before you got pregnant. That happens to plenty of women they find out when they’re pregnant. Good luck on the test!